We should start by saying that we have never studied marketing, and have no particular expertise in this field.

It seems to us that “modern marketing theory” is the art of trying to convince someone to buy something they don’t really need or want. We have gone right back to first principles, and have developed the following approach to sell our fruit. Here is an outline of what we do and why we do it, in the hope that others may be encouraged “to have a go” producing fruit for their local community. To set the scene: we live on a quiet backroad 40 kilometres from Mount Gambier, the second largest city in South Australia, which has a population of only 30,000. Adelaide, with about 1.1 million people, is 4 hours away. We don’t have many locals interested in purchasing fruit simply because it is organic.

1. Quality. Most people buy with their eyes, so our fruit has to look as good and taste better than conventional apples. What keeps us in business is the fact that people have taste buds, and they can taste the difference. So we must never compromise on eating quality. If some apples don’t taste really good, we don’t try to sell them. We process them into pasteurized apple juice, or solar dry them. And then a rule we apply to juicing and drying apples is this – if we wouldn’t be prepared to eat the apple as it is, then it shouldn’t be used for processing. All rots and codling moth go to the cows or compost.

2. Freshness. We sell apples fresh off the tree for a 12 week period – we guarantee all fruit purchased by consumers has been off the tree less than four days. This entails delivery to local shops three times per week, and collecting unsold fruit approaching the four day limit.

3. Packaging. We sell our fruit in a distinctive 2kg cardboard carry pack. We do this because fruit in plastic bags is often thought to be a discounted inferior line, and is prone to bruising. The cardboard box allows strong branding, and for us to “tell our story” in print on the back of the box. The fruit does not get bruised, and we stamp the actual date of picking on each box. We put considerable thought into presentation, and are prepared to spend money and effort to get it right.

4. Outlets. We are not interested in dealing with the major supermarket chains. We do not have a distributor, and supply direct to independently-owned small supermarkets and green grocers. There is no dedicated organic retailer within 400 kilometres.  (We do however supply juice to organic retailers in Adelaide). These retailers have access to a product that the major chains will never have, and some customers come into their shops looking for the product. This allows a strong relationship to develop between producer, retailer and consumer. But this is totally dependent on unfailing product integrity.

5. Pricing. Most green grocers in Australia use a 100% mark-up on the wholesale price – if they buy bananas for $2.00 per kg, they will retail them for $4.00 per kg. Wholesale (and therefore retail) prices vary from week to week. In contrast, before the start of each season, we decide in consultation with our largest local retailer what the price will be for the 12 week period, regardless of variety, fruit size or variations in the price of conventional apples. Last season the retailers paid us $AU 7.70 per 2kg carton, and they retailed for $AU 9.95. The retailers are happy with this lower than normal margin, mainly because they have no wastage and their customers value the product.

6. Advertising. We do not spend money on advertising. Our belief is that if we maintain quality and the presentation is good, the product will sell itself.